Press releases

14 Aug 2014

Zaslavl to host World University Championships in Canoe Sprint

MINSK, 14 August (BelTA) – The official ceremony at the National Olympic Rowing Center in Zaslavl, Minsk Oblast will open the 6^th World University Championships in Canoe Sprint on 14 August, BelTA has learned.

Belarus won the bid to host this year’s event following the vote at the meeting of the executive committee of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) in Brussels, Belgium in spring 2013.

The organizing committee for the 6^th World University Championships in Canoe Sprint was confirmed following the decision made by Belarusian Premier Mikhail Myasnikovich in July 2013. The organizing committee headed by Education Minister Sergei Maskevich included heads and representatives of a number of ministries and agencies. Representatives of FISU and the International Canoe Federation visited Belarus during the country’s preparations to host its first event of such a level. The representatives of the two federations got familiar with the living conditions for the participants of the competitions at Dormitory No.11 of the Belarusian State University, catering, accreditation rules and made a tour of the rowing canal in Zaslavl. The FISU inspectors met with chairman of the organizing committee for the world championships Sergei Maskevich and took note of a high level of the preparation for the international competitions.

Invitations to take part in the competitions have been sent to 167 FISU member states. As a result, about 300 athletes will represent 22 countries at the championships. Among them, apart from Belarus, is Belgium, Brazil, Hungary, the UK, Georgia, Denmark, Italy, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Mexico, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Taiwan (China), Finland, France, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Japan. The previous championships in Kazan, Russia in 2012 gathered 169 participants from 18 countries.

Belarusian university athletes are among the world’s top leaders in the sport. Over the past four years they won 22 (11 gold, eight silver and three bronze) medals. Belarusian representatives have won 156 awards (40 gold, 55 silver and 61 bronze medals) at the World Universiades. The results of the universiades put Belarus among the world’s top 25 student sport countries. In Belarus there are two rowing canals (in Brest and Zaslavl), which meet the international requirements to the European and world-level competitions. All significant international sport events receive state support.

The mascot of the championships is Lyavon the Catfish developed by a second-year student Anton Timashkov.

The first competition day, 15 August, will feature 200m, 500m, and 1,000m qualifying rounds, and the semifinals. 16 August will include more semifinal races and the first finals. The final day of the competitions will feature the majority of medal events and the closing ceremony of the championships. Information on the competitions is available at www.canoe-sprint2014.com.

The Belarusian university national team will include:

kayak (men) – Oleg Yurenya, Pavel Medvedev, Ivan Tsuranov, Andrei Kolosko, Georgy Kolosko, Andrei Tsarikovich, Artyom Tilyupo, Nikita Borikov, Roman Novitsky, Sergei Teleshov, Igor Boichevsky, Alexander Braim;

kayak (women) – Marina Litvinchuk, Olga Khudenko, Nadezhda Lepeshko, Margarita Tishkevich, Sofia Yurchenko, Alexandra Grishina;

canoe (men) – Andrei Bogdanovich, Maxim Petrov, Dmitry Pivovar, Denis Garazha, Gleb Solodukha, Denis Makhlai, Sergei Privolkin, Ruslan Sazanovets, Yevgeny Tengel, Yuri Mazanovich.

The World University Champiosnhips as well as Summer and Winter Universiades are held biennially under the aegis of the FISU. Belarus has taken part in the world’s university canoe sprint forums since 2008.